Sean Couturier and linemate Jakub Voracek have a favorable matchup tonight against the Capitals. Who else should you stack in NHL DFS on this three-game slate?

Good morning all! Christmas is coming! With Zdeno Chara back in the lineup, Boston should be able to get back on track soon enough. I don't know if this particular coaching change will help Ottawa but I do agree that a change was needed. I think you can now consider Buffalo NHL-ready as they have gone 7-3-0 in last ten games separating themselves from the Carolina Hurricanes. The biggest reason in Buffalo is G Jhonas Enroth. He has taken the reins after a somewhat sluggish start.  The Philadelphia Flyers have an upcoming 8-game road trip which will say a lot about their chances for the playoffs. I could see a lot of names changing addresses for the Hurricanes when the trading deadline approaches. It's impressive to see the Florida Panthers in the middle of the Eastern Conference standings with 32 points through 28 games. Nice job! Can you believe Toronto is the hottest team in the NHL right now with an 8-1-1 record over last 10 games? Who would've thought after the 9-2 Tampa catastrophe? The Leafs did it by beating the former hottest team, the Detroit Red Wings, twice in one week. Nazem Kadri is playing well on both sides of the puck and has 7 points in 6 December games and he had 7 total points in all of November. That Sean Couturier is on fire recently if you haven't noticed. He also has 7 points in 6 December games like Kadri. At 6-3-1 in last 10 games, is that considered a slump for Tampa Bay? With Crosby slumping and all their injuries throughout the early season, the Pittsburgh Penguins still sit atop the Eastern Conference. Nicklas Backstrom, the assist machine, had a hat trick against Tampa. Now, with all the firepower in that game, I wouldn't have guessed him to get a hattie. Scott Darling lost against the Islanders 3-2.  He has played well with a 5-2 record and a 1.97 GAA.  Corey Crawford has a 1.87 GAA and Antti Raanta has a 2.02 GAA. What do they feed those Blackhawk goalies? Sergei Bobrovsky and the Columbus Blue Jackets are storming their way back into the playoff picture by rattling off six straight wins. Get on the bandwagon and hitch the cannon up to the back. When Kris Letang is in the lineup, he is lethal. Well, maybe not lethal, but damn good. Frederik Andersen is 7-0-0 in December. I don't think he can get through the month without a loss. Do you? If Edmonton could only score a little bit more each game, Arizona might have been in last place in the Western Conference instead of the Oilers. I think a coaching change may be in order ...

Let's start off with saying "Hat's off to Nick" as the cerebral passing machine known as Nicklas Backstrom collected his first career regular season "hat trick" in Washington's 4-2 win over Tampa Bay. His career high in goals scored was 33 in 2009-10, but he routinely falls in the 15-20 category. Meaning, don't get overly excited over his scoring explosion. His point-per-game ways will continue this season thanks to a healthy dose of assists.. Need to mention our second fantasy star of the night, Kris Letang who has played this season like a man on a mission, scoring another two goals in Pittsburgh's losing effort to Columbus. He has collected points in five straight games, plus goals in three straight. With 21 points on the season and injury-free again, get him in your starting line-ups ASAP.. Should we start to take Buffalo's goalie Jhonas Enroth seriously in all fantasy leagues? The streaking Swede did not enjoy his best night by any means but held on for his eighth win in his last ten starts. The Sabres have been gaining much confidence during this hot stretch and are even scoring some goals. When you see them defeating Florida and Calgary by the score of 4-3, then you know the team is trending upward. I say use Enroth as a solid no. 2 if your goaltending is struggling.. Tyler Seguin is the "man" again, scoring a goal and an assist in the 4-2 Dallas triumph over New Jersey. His 23 goals and 38 points leads the entire NHL, while his robust 118 SOG ranks him second. Superstar status has arrived.. Want to add that Jason Spezza is back on Seguin's line. His two points last night was no coincidence. Start him immediately... The formula is simple for Philly's offensive success- secondary scoring is a must and it's been on display over recent games. Third-line center Sean Couturier scored a goal in their 5-1 win over Carolina, extending his point to six games. Wayne Simmonds is back on one of his famous hot streaks, collecting the game-winner plus a helper so use him while he is on fire. The Flyers have been buzzing on offense as top dogs Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek continue to lead the way.. Where have you been, Mats? Despite sub-par offensive production at the quarter mark, Mr. Zuccarello sparked the 'Blueshirts to a 5-1 win over Vancouver with his two goals. With 13 points in 25 games, he is falling way short of his 59-point pace he set last season, but consider "buying low" on him. He was moved up to the Rick Nash-Derick Brassard line, which would ...

Let's start off with saying "Hat's off to Nick" as the cerebral passing machine known as Nicklas Backstrom collected his first career regular season "hat trick" in Washington's 4-2 win over Tampa Bay. His career high in goals scored was 33 in 2009-10, but he routinely falls in the 15-20 category. Meaning, don't get overly excited over his scoring explosion. His point-per-game ways will continue this season thanks to a healthy dose of assists.. Need to mention our second fantasy star of the night, Kris Letang who has played this season like a man on a mission, scoring another two goals in Pittsburgh's losing effort to Columbus. He has collected points in five straight games, plus goals in three straight. With 21 points on the season and injury-free again, get him in your starting line-ups ASAP.. Should we start to take Buffalo's goalie Jhonas Enroth seriously in all fantasy leagues? The streaking Swede did not enjoy his best night by any means but held on for his eighth win in his last ten starts. The Sabres have been gaining much confidence during this hot stretch and are even scoring some goals. When you see them defeating Florida and Calgary by the score of 4-3, then you know the team is trending upward. I say use Enroth as a solid no. 2 if your goaltending is struggling.. Tyler Seguin is the "man" again, scoring a goal and an assist in the 4-2 Dallas triumph over New Jersey. His 23 goals and 38 points leads the entire NHL, while his robust 118 SOG ranks him second. Superstar status has arrived.. Want to add that Jason Spezza is back on Seguin's line. His two points last night was no coincidence. Start him immediately... The formula is simple for Philly's offensive success- secondary scoring is a must and it's been on display over recent games. Third-line center Sean Couturier scored a goal in their 5-1 win over Carolina, extending his point to six games. Wayne Simmonds is back on one of his famous hot streaks, collecting the game-winner plus a helper so use him while he is on fire. The Flyers have been buzzing on offense as top dogs Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek continue to lead the way.. Where have you been, Mats? Despite sub-par offensive production at the quarter mark, Mr. Zuccarello sparked the 'Blueshirts to a 5-1 win over Vancouver with his two goals. With 13 points in 25 games, he is falling way short of his 59-point pace he set last season, but consider "buying low" on him. He was moved up to the Rick Nash-Derick Brassard line, which would ...

Sean Couturier C-Philadelphia: The eighth overall pick of the 2011 has tons of talent, but has not become a consistent scoring threat just yet. Centering the third line won't help his cause, but he has been red-hot lately while currently on a six-game point streak (3G/4A). The Flyers are starting to click on offense, so maybe take a flier on the talented Couturier. Mika Zibanejad RW- Ottawa: The 21-year old has been flourishing on the second line alongside Bobby Ryan, scoring in three straight games and racking up seven points in his last four games. While this should probably viewed as a "hot" streak, the youngster has considerable upside and could be coming into his own as a top-six forward. Monitor how quickly Zibanejad wins his new coach over, as he could quickly become one of his go-to offensive players. Tyler Ennis C- Buffalo: With 21 points in 30 games, the top pivot has been buzzing along with the Sabres during their hot stretch. While he will probably never be a PPG producer over the course of a whole season, he is sure capable of sustaining that pace over long periods. He has racked up 9 points in last ten and should be a decent short-term pickup for the 5th-6th starting forward spot Jacob Trouba D- Winnipeg: This one is simple to figure out as the blue-chipper has been the main beneficiary of key injuries to the defensive corps, such as Enstrom and Bogosian. Despite not picking up a point over his last three games, Trouba still collected eight points over the last 10. As long as he is getting top-pairing minutes even-strength and on the power-play, he is starteable in all fantasy leagues. Jhonas Enroth G- Buffalo: Despite winning 7 of his last 9 starts, the fact that Enroth plays for a "bad" team is scaring most fantasy owners away. However, he has been a difference-maker over the last few weeks and has a decent four-game slate coming up. With Ottawa and Colorado at home, it might be time to take a gamble on arguably the "hottest" goalie in the NHL right now. Because of the overall lack of offensive support, the win total should dry up but the peripheral stats could stay above-average.

If you didn't happen to catch the latest UNDER THE RAYDAR piece on Tuesday, you may have missed the part about Sean Couturier starting to heat up. Against the Devils, all the young Flyer did was score an early goal and add an assist In the 4-1 Philadelphia win over New Jersey.  It was all Couturier in the first period and then the Flyers sealed the deal with 2 late goals in the third period with Claude Giroux and Mark Streit getting assists on both goals. We all know Giroux and Streit are must-starts, and it looks like Couturier is inching his way into that category as well..... Chicago Blackhawk G Scott Darling is quickly becoming Chicago's darling as he won for the second straight filling in for the injured Corey Crawford. Darling was able to withstand a late-charging Boston Bruin team and turned aside 32 SOG for the 2-2 win in Boston....Jonathan Toews left the game with an apparent upper-body injury when he was checked hard into the end boards. We will keep you posted as we learn more about the extent of Toews' injury.... If you haven't noticed, the Buffalo Sabres have won 5 of their last 7 games as Jhonas Enroth has picked up his game of late, this time with a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames. Enroth is 7-2-0 in last 9 starts, so if you are need for goaltending help, grab Enroth as he has remained hot for a surging Sabres team....Matt Moulson had 2 goals including the game-winner giving him just 6 goals to go along with 8 assists on the season. Moulson has seen better days since he was traded away from Long Island....Tyler Ennis, with 3 assists, has always shown flashes of offensive brilliance but has never been able to offer that consistently for fantasy purposes. If there is any Sabre player you would pick up for fantasy, Ennis would be the guy... The Columbus Blue Jackets continue their resurgence in the Eastern Conference with a 3-2 OT victory over the Washington Capitals. Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 39 SOG for his, and the team's, fifth straight win. We had mentioned in the December 2ndBETWEEN THE PIPES article that the time to ‘buy-low" on Bobrovsky was coming to a close and with this win, that window of opportunity has been shut. Perhaps it's not too late to pick up some of the more talented skaters on the team as I'm sure they will start to get hot knowing they have a red-hot Bobber backing them up.... So how does a team usually respond to their coach getting fired? The Ottawa Senators fell victim the Los Angeles Kings 5-3 as the post-Paul ...

Couturier was not on the ice on Wednesday because of a stomach virus, but he is back out there today and should play tonight. The young centre has recorded three goals and two assists (5 points) in 12 games this season.

The Flyers are in action on Thursday so monitor Couturier's status during tomorrow's morning skate. If he takes part, he should play, if not his status will be in doubt.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the Canadian solider who was shot and killed in yesterday's shooting in Ottawa. The Philadelphia Flyers won the Battle of Pennsylvania last night with a 5-3 over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flyers held Crosby off the score sheet and gained a much needed win over a division rival.  Claude Giroux (G, A) and Jakub Vorcaek (2A) were active but it was Sean Couturier who had an empty-netter plus 2 assists to lead the scoring. Couturier has been called upon by GM Ron Hextall to be more involved the offense at the start of the season.  Couturier has the skill set to be more productive.  And with 5 points in the first 7 games. perhaps this is the start.... Anaheim's Corey Perry didn't need such a pep talk as he has started the season on fire, scoring a hat trick against the Buffalo Sabres last night. Perry now has 8 goals and 10 points in 7 games.....Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen remains unbeaten at 6-0-0 with an incredible 1.32 GAA and a .952 SP. He seems to have locked down the starter's role.... Don't look now but the Edmonton Oilers have won 2 in row with their 3-2 win over Washington Last night at Rexall Place. The Oil carried over their solid play from the Tampa Bay game and shut down another explosive forward last night in Alex Ovechkin. Some home cooking is all the Oilers needed to right the ship as the team is playing better defensively in front of G Ben Scrivens who may just be getting on a roll as he has let in only 2 goals in each of the two victories and has a .931 SP in that span....Is Edmonton D-man Justin Schultz heating up? Schultz has now scored in 2 straight games after going scoreless in 4.  Look for the talented young defenseman to be more involved in the offense going forward.   Schultz has so much untapped potential that if the team can play a sound defensive game in front of Scrivens, this could allow the extremely talented offense to shine through, benefitting both Schultz and Scrivens.

Does anyone realize just how close the Philadelphia Flyers had come to being where the New York Rangers ended up? Everyone remembers the horrific start to the season the Flyers had, and especially Claude Giroux, but Giroux ended up 3rd in league scoring and the Flyers lost to the Rangers in the opening round in game 7 by a score of 2-1 or we may have seen the Flyers up against the LA Kings for the right to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. Will things be different this year?  Steve Mason proved his worth to the Flyers especially during that 2-1 loss to the Rangers where he played lights out in a must-win situation. GOALIES The Philadelphia Flyers, who always seem to have a problem with maintaining a true Number 1 net minder, took a stab at Columbus' Mason in a April 2013 trade. Mason, who couldn't seem to recapture his rookie year magic when in Columbus, was expendable because of the play of ex-Flyer goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky who was acquired the year prior. How ironic is that?  Well, Mason has proved to be the Number 1 goalie the team has been searching for, and he is only 26-years old.  Philadelphia just may be his cup of tea as he posted similar numbers last year as he did in his rookie season, except for the shutout totals.  Expect Mason to be Philly's guy for the foreseeable future. DEFENSE Losing a veteran presence like Kimmo Timonen is tough to replace, but the prior season;s signing of Mark Streit should ease that loss a little bit. The team also signed Michael Del Zotto to a contract hoping that they can light the fire in MDZ's belly after his promising career derailed in New York and then Nashville. Del Zotto still needs to prove that he can play at the NHL level night-in and night-out. The offense will come mainly from Streit with hopes MDZ can contribute something as the rest of the blueliners are more suited to playing a defensive style. FORWARDS It is amazing that with the start that Giroux had last year that he ended up 3rd in NHL scoring. That was an incredible pace and you could possibly see Giroux leading the league in scoring this year if he can play at that level from Game 1.  Jakub Voracek has found a home playing alongside Giroux and that shouldn't change a bit. Wayne Simmonds finally got some recognition with the year he had, scoring 39 goals with a career high also in points with 60. He can do it again. One player that will be on everyone's lips this season is Brayden Schenn who is set to breakout in a big way. 70 is not out of ...